Discovering The Khwai Part II

Right, I left off in part one with a group of rowdy hyenas that had spent more than 24 hours around a lion who was guarding both a young hippo carcass and a zebra foal.

The stage was set and all hell was about to break loose. With the lion shifting between the two carcasses it was inevitable that the hyenas would get an opportunity to steal at least one of these meals for themselves. I have no idea why this young male didn’t ever consolidate his feasts into a single spot – perhaps he was just too full to do so – but the hyenas leveraged off of his mistake and soon had him running between the two carcasses.

The stand off continued beyond sunset and, slowly but surely the hyenas managed to steal the hippo carcass from the young male after dragging it out into the open where the male had no cover.

You can check out the video documenting the whole experience from day one below – the sounds, action and interaction were incredible!

We were all still reeling from what we had witnessed when we pulled into a secluded bush dinner which had been setup on the banks of a small lagoon for us. There, beneath a waning crescent moon we enjoyed a some red wine, home-cooked oxtail stew and apple crumble to a symphony of painted reed frogs.

Man I love Africa!

The only sighting missing form our time in Khwai as we headed out on our morning drive was that of a leopard. And, sure as nuts, out guide Dutch picked up on fresh tracks for a female leopard as we headed out to the north of the concession.

Working with one or two other vehicles in the area we followed the track for a out 30 minutes before being distracted by a pride of lions which had recently moved into the area.

After spending some time with them we re-connected with the other vehicles who had found the small female leopard we had been tracking not more than 500m from where we were watching the lions.

Despite being one of the smallest leopards I have seen this old girl put on a proper show as she stalked white faced whistling ducks around the fringes of a dense swamp. I wish I had been able to video the moment where 30 odd white faced whistling ducks took flight as she pounced in their direction.

Swirling around her and calling as they took flight she seemed completely unphased and simply licked her paws before moving off to higher ground to see what else lay in the swamp.

And with that, my two nights at the Khwai tented camp had come to an end.

Two nights. Thats all it took for me to experience all of this and I think that is a testimony to just how productive this region can be, even in the green season. The variety of habitats here range from rivers to swamps to mopane and everything in-between. This means that you are almost always driving along an ecotone of sorts meaning that you could bump into many different species at any given time.

I can only imagine how the game viewing in this area increases as surface water inland dries up and the floodwaters of the delta push through the hippo pathways and channels that they flood each and every year.

Khwai tented Camp has it all, great accommodation, friendly staff, great food and of course, a prime game viewing concession. A winning combination in anyones books.

We will be looking at adding an additional bolt on to our November Chobe departure to spend 2 or 3 nights at Khwai tented Camp before moving to Chobe for our usual 4 night Chobe Photo Safari. Sounds good right?

If you’re keen to find out more then drop me a line and I’ll send you some details!

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About the Author

Andrew Beck

Very few people can tell you what their passion in life is. Even fewer will be able to tell you that what they do for a living is in fact their passion. My love for the bush and conservation took me on journey which would not only allow me to explore the continent which fascinates me so much, but to share my passion for photography and conservation with others.
Be sure to check out my my website and instagram account.

Comments 2

Amazing. I can’t even imagine how incredible a journey that was for you. Hard to believe you experienced so much in just 2 days. With the small amount you shared here in your beautiful photos and video, it seemed like a lifetime. I held my breath a few times in awe. People are the only thing out of balance in this world. Our footprints sink deep. How do you change hearts that don’t care. Thank you so much for caring and sharing. My best, Christine

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